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loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Saturday, March 04, 2017

japanese pet cemeteries, personally

I don't speak Japanese, but that's all right. I know the family has come to visit the resting place of their kitty Neko-chan. I watch them give mindful respect on the way in, and then, full of memories, wander along the shelves of other people's pets, chuckling. Why would anyone laugh at a pet cemetery? Because they - and we - recognize the love and joy behind all those little ash canisters, all those toys and snacks and photos, and we laugh a little in communion. Please enjoy this gentle short home video I found of a family's visit to Hirasawa's pet cemetery.
If you're interested in what the largest pet cemetery in Japan might look like, that would be within Jindaiji Temple in western Tokyo; here's a well-illustrated blog post from JapanVisitor.
For a truly personal and close look at a Japanese family giving their furry one a grand sendoff in 2009, I'd like to send you to this article. Do note that there are closeups of post-cremation cat bones being handled with elegance and grace; I found it brought tears of appreciation to my eyes, but if you feel otherwise, please don't make yourself unhappy.